Results 27,501-27,520 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Consultancy Contracts Expenditure (27 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: My Department has not paid any fees or rendered any services to the person or company in question for the years 2013 to date.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter, the issue of broadband and the national broadband plan in particular. I restate in the House my commitment to ensure that the national broadband plan happens. We have gone from a position two years ago when this Government of Fine Gael and Independents came into office where only about half the premises in Ireland had access to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We are now at 75% and I want us to get to 100% as soon as possible. I appreciate that 500,000 homes, businesses and farms throughout the country do not currently have access to high-speed broadband. There are 1 million people living in those homes and the more people who get connected, the more frustrated the people who are being left out become. I am determined to ensure we get this done...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Irish Independent, no doubt, is staffed by very professional journalists who write their own stories; they do not need me to write them for them.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: To answer the Deputy's question again, I cannot stand over the veracity of that story. A final bid, a final tender, has been received by the Department. The Department is now evaluating that with the help of KPMG and some other external experts. We anticipate that the Government will be able to make a decision in the coming weeks as to whether we can accept that tender. I have seen...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----and from time to time its leader may change, but they are still the same Fianna Fáil.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It is not a new consortium. The leadership has changed and the composition has changed, but it is not a new consortium.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: What is unusual is that we are in this House discussing a tender process and evaluation that is under way. We have had big projects like this in the past. They may not have been as big as this one but they were big. I refer to the projects relating to the new national children's hospital, the major inter-urban motorways or the schools bundle. I do not recall having a debate-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----about the tender processes relating to or consortiums involved in those projects.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It raises a question for me, namely, what are the motivations of the Opposition.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Are they trying to undermine this process?

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Are they trying to make comments under the protection of privilege-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----which others may use to undermine the national broadband project?

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Is their plan to try to scupper this project so that people in rural Ireland-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----will be denied the infrastructure they need?

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy is correct. It is now less than a month from Christmas, which is a wonderful time for families and children. It is a time for excitement, friends and celebration, but it can also be a very stressful time, particularly when it comes to getting the house ready, buying presents and finding the money to do all of that. I absolutely acknowledge that. To assist people and families,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: As I said, I encourage people to look at the existing alternatives. Low-cost loans are available from the credit union through the It Makes Sense scheme. I appreciate it is not available in every credit union, but one need not go to the closest credit union nor be a member of a particular credit union to avail of that loan. For people who qualify, there is the possibility of getting an...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Perhaps it is the case that we must restrict people's freedom and choice on occasion to protect them from being exploited.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We need to ensure we get the balance right.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I acknowledge that Christmas is, and can be, a stressful time for some families, particularly those who are living in emergency accommodation or looking for a new place to rent. I can imagine the concerns parents must have in the run-up to Christmas when they are asked by kids how Santa will visit if the hotel room does not have a chimney, or where the Christmas tree will be put. I totally...